Heroes Volume Three Villains
by RiddlerHanjinome
Summary: Heroes Vol. 3 through my eyes. Contains potential language and descriptive violence, but I am planning on staying as true to the series as possible. CHAPTER TWO UP! On a week long hiatus
1. Chapter One: Cause and Effect

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Heroes, unfortunately. If I did, I'd be a much more proliferous writer, and on the off-chance I still wrote fanfics, they would probably be much better.

**A/N: **Also, italics is thought, as per the usual, italics with quotations is telepathy and or mind-to-mind speaking (i.e., between Peter and Matt or between other telepaths), and any dialogue with a dash (-) in front of it is translated from Japanese.

**HEROES  
VOLUME THREE  
VILLAINS  
**  
**Chapter One: "Cause and Effect"**

"I know... It was unavoidable... You do know that you've opened Pandora's Box."

---A FEW HOURS EARLIER---  
-----Odessa, Texas-----  
---Matt Parkman, Nathan Petrelli, Peter Petrelli---

"Good afternoon. Most of you have no idea who I am. My name is Nathan Petrelli, and I was elected to Congress in the state of New York. Seems like a long time ago. I lost my position, I lost my brother, I lost my family. I'm sad to say that I lost my way... But while I was gone, I've had the chance to see the world through newly-humbled eyes, witnessed amazing things, seen ordinary people among us trying their best each day to be heroes. These ordinary people, like you, like me, are capable of extraordinary things. You have no idea how extraordinary. But there are other people; organizations that don't want you to know the truth. I myself kept secrets. But last year, something incredible happened to me, and it changed my life. At first, I was afraid, but I'm not afraid anymore. I'm here to tell you the truth... I have the abili--"

**BLAM! BLAM!** Two shots rang out. For a brief second, the world froze around Nathan Petrelli. In an instant, searing pain in his torso sped everything back to normal in a hurricane of confusion. There were two... bullets. Someone had shot him. Staggering, he dropped to one knee before falling towards the floor.

It was Peter who caught him as he fell. Peter, the one who'd always been there for him. Peter, the only person he'd always been able to trust completely. Peter, who he'd been willing to let kill half of New York for selfish goals. Peter...

"P...P...Peter..."

It was odd to him how faint his voice sounded. He was even more surprised by all of the flashes he could see. After a second, he realized it was cameras flashing. Members of the various press outlets he'd called together were taking pictures of him dying. _Because,_ he thought with a sureness he'd never known, _that's what was happening._ He was _dying._

_Media vultures. So desperate for a story, they can't let a man die in peace._

"Peter..."

His brother's face loomed in his field of vision, obscuring almost everything else. It was funny... with the camera flashes behind him, Pete looked almost angelic.

"I'm right here, Nathan. You're gonna be okay."

Nathan weakly shook his head, barely getting one full head-shake before the pain overwhelmed him.

"Nah, Pete, not... not this time. I'm dying, Pete."

Peter shook his head, not wanting to accept it. Nathan watched tears start to fall from his eyes.

"Pete... you and... you and Parkman get... get outta here. You can still... finish this," he brokenly said in between coughs.

"I'm not leaving you, Nathan. I never have. I never will."

A weak chuckle quickly turned into heavy coughing. Nathan had known what Peter was going to say. He always did.

He started to notice a darkness on the edges of his field of vision, slowly moving to cover everything. He knew it was close, and events started ticking by in his memory. His graduation, Pete's, his law career, his wedding. The night of the explosion. The accident. His dad's death... They flew through his mind in no specific order, and he began coughing heavier, head turning to the side as blood flew out of his mouth with each cough. He took a ragged breath as Peter kissed his forehead, quietly crying.

"I love you, Nathan," he whispered.

_I love you too, Pete,_ he though as the darkness closed over everything, clouding out even the memories. He exhaled, knowing it would be his last.

Peter watched his brother die as he held him, same as it had been with Simone months earlier. His last breath left him, and Peter saw Nathan's eyes start to glaze over, losing all the life that had been visible in them. He closed them and held his brother close to him.

**FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!  
**  
The cameras clicking and flashing behind him broke him out of his thoughts, and his grief quickly turned into anger.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you people?! He's dead, and you're taking _**PICTURES**_?!"

The flashing and clicking all around them barely changed, and his anger grew even stronger. He could see cameras all over and, here and there, a video camera. Over all the sounds, he was sure he could hear voices talking about "the assassination of former Congressman-elect Nathan Petrelli."

His face started to get hot as he got angrier, and he felt something familiar rise up inside of him.

"Get. Away. **NOW!**"

With his yell, his voice dropped to a deeper, almost unnatural level, and an invisible wave of telekinesis burst out from him, knocking everyone back a few feet. Some of the people on the far edge of the crowd slammed into the opposite wall, slumping down unconscious.

_There you go, Nathan... The secret is out. It's what you wanted..._

Reaching behind him, he grabbed Matt Parkman's ankle, the closest part of him, and scrunched up his face, thinking of Hiro Nakamura. He felt everything shift around them, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in his old New York apartment with Matt and Nathan.

Matt looked around, obviously confused.

"Okay, Petrelli, what the hell was THAT?"

---TOKYO, JAPAN---  
---Hiro Nakamura and Ando Masahashi---

-"You buried him alive?"- Ando's face was of complete shock at his friend. He would never have expected this from Hiro. Maybe his future self, but not the man his friend was now.

-"There was no other way. Kensei Takezo-san could regenerate from any injury."-

-"Still... Wow."-

Hiro grabbed the papers out of his printer, moved one of the reports to the top of the stack and neatly stapled them, putting it in a large manila envelope before dropping it into his manager's in-box.

Work helped. It distracted him from his thoughts on what he had done. Who he was becoming. The mistakes he'd made.

His first mistake had been time-traveling by accident in Kirby Plaza. If he hadn't reacted in fear, he could have just teleported. But instead, he had found himself between an army and the man he'd thought to be his childhood hero.

His second mistake had been thinking he could turn a drunkard into a savior. Kensei would have made the route on his own. History showed it.

And then his final mistake... Yaeko.

He had let himself get attached. He'd fallen in love. And what's more, in his attempts to help her fall in love with Kensei, he'd been trying to make her fall in love with the man he'd always idealized Kensei to be. And she fell for him. It truly had been the kiss that fractured time.

He hadn't realized how badly things could go until now. Talking with his father right before his death had helped him figure it out.

-"'We have the power of gods. That does not mean that we can _play_ God.'"- Hiro repeated under his breath, a phrase he had been thinking a lot lately. Some of the last words he'd had with his father...

-"What did you say, Hiro?"-

-"Nothing, Ando-kun. Just... just something my father told me once."-

--- HARTSDALE, NEW YORK ---

--- Elle and Robert Bishop ---

"I can not believe you would risk yourself like that, Elle! Going after Sylar with no back-up? Without telling anyone? What were you thinking?"

Elle shifted uncomfortably, standing in front of her father, holding back a wince when her arm shifted in the sling a little too much.

"I was… I was trying to make you proud of me again, Daddy…."

Bob sighed. He knew Elle had done what she thought was right. He'd watched the video footage, and she had otherwise followed procedure for tagging a hostile and powerful person. He didn't have to be this angry. But he wasn't thinking only about Company practice. If Elle had been killed by Sylar…. That's what he was thinking. He was supposed to be a Company man first, and a father second, but it would never be completely like that. And that was why he'd been angry, in truth. Elle was his only daughter.

"Well," he hesitated, assuming a professional mindset, "the important thing is that you managed to save Doctor Suresh, Molly, and Miss Herrera. They are entirely too valuable to lose. Well done, Elle. As soon as our arm is fully healed, you'll be back on field missions."

He watched the surprise form on Elle's face, and held back a fatherly grin. He couldn't show too much compassion. He had to start treating her as an adult. She wasn't his little girl any longer. She was an adult, and a power member of this organization.

"Now, I have business with Doctor Suresh. You're dismissed. Take the rest of the day off. Get some rest, Elle. You've earned it."

--- Mohinder Suresh and Molly Walker ---

"Mohinder, why can't we go home yet?"

It was not the first time he'd heard Molly ask that question. Far from it. He'd found a way around answering directly, but he was running out of ideas. How to tell her that they weren't safe going back to the apartment? How to tell her that if they did, at any time, Sylar could show up. Her nightmare, her "boogeyman". The man who'd killed her parents.

Mohinder had made a mistake in staying there originally. Looking back, however, there had been no reason to think so. Yes, Sylar knew where he had lived, but they had all thought Sylar to be dead. He had seen no problem with moving back in to his apartment with Molly, and later, Matt. Molly's "other hero". He had come in search of Molly when he had found out the child he'd been expecting wasn't his. That it was the product of his wife's infidelity.

He'd been welcome with open arms by Molly, and Mohinder couldn't find it in his heart to say "no" when she brought up the idea of Matt moving in. He'd been a good secondary father figure for Molly, as well. He took care of her while Mohinder was off in other places, sometimes other countries, giving lectures. Trying to bait the company he now worked for. The company he'd wanted to bring down, with the assistance of Noah.

He still didn't know if he'd made the right choice. "Going native", as Noah had put it. Mohinder could remember the anger on Noah's face when he said he needed some of Claire's blood. Then having to shoot Noah just hours later….

But all that was in the past. As was his apartment. Whether or not they liked it, they were staying with the company for now. Until Mohinder could get another place for their odd little "family". And now, he supposed, he had to tell Molly the same.

He sighed, not wanting to do this. "Molly… we won't be going home. Not back to the apartment, anyway. Now that Sylar knows we live there…. It's not safe."

"But that lady shot him with her lightning, and he fell out of the window!"

He shook his head gently, trying to get her to understand. "There's a chance he still lived, though. He had that 'cure' with him, and they didn't find him there. I know you don't like it, but… I'm afraid we'll have to stay here until the Company finds a new, safer place for us."

The look on her face told him, as if he needed telling, that she was not happy with this. But then again, neither was he. Company agents had been spending the last week packing their belongings, a few hours a day, and bringing them here. He could see that she was about to say something when they both looked up, hearing the doorknob turn.

Bob walked in, and Mohinder knew something had gone wrong. There was an air around Bob, one that spoke volumes of his unhappiness.

"Hello, Doctor Suresh." He nodded his head towards Mohinder, and then smiled towards Molly. "And hello, Molly. How are you doing today?"

"I want to go home."

Bob's smile faded. He'd probably been expecting a slightly warmer greeting. "I'm afraid that's not quite possible at the moment. But we are definitely looking for a new home for you, Detective Parkman, and Doctor Suresh. So, Miss Walker." He crouched down now, attempting to get eye to eye with Molly. "Would you mind if I stole Mohinder for a few minutes? I need to talk with him about something. If you get worried, all you have to do is call him. Or, even better, you can always find him."

Without giving much of a reply, Molly said yes, knowing Mohinder would have to talk to Bob anyway, whether she wanted it to be now or not. The two of them walked out of the room, promising to be back in a few minutes.

"Doctor, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Nicole Sanders is dead."

Mohinder's jaw started to drop, the words hitting him harder than a physical blow. Niki had been his partner for a short time, and had become infected with an antibody-resistant version of the Shanti virus while they were working together to stop an attempt on Bob's life. He'd figured out how to cure her, and had told her as much. She had been counting on him….

"Mohinder, don't assume the worst. This was not your fault. She died in a fire. She died trying to save one of her family members. You should remember her… Monica Dawson?"

An image of Monica flashed quickly in Mohinder's mind. Adaptive muscle memory. Whatever she saw done, she could do, within normal physical limits.

"But… how?"

As they walked into Bob's now-empty office, Bob offered Mohinder a seat, which he numbly took. Niki dead…. Saving Monica.

"Long story short, Monica was caught by a gang who had stolen some of Micah's possessions. She broke into the house that was their headquarters and was knocked unconscious. Micah left and ran to find Niki for help. The two of them tracked down Monica in a building the gang was setting on fire, and Niki ran in to save her. Monica got out, but Niki…."

"Burned to death," Mohinder finished for him.

"Exactly. So, even if you had gone to New Orleans with the cure, it would have been too late. Don't beat yourself up, Doctor."

Mohinder nodded, not entirely sure Bob was right about the certainty of Niki's death. "Are we done here? I'd like to get back to Molly."

Bob sighed, standing up. "Unfortunately not. I believe you remember Nathan Petrelli? He helped in taking down Maury."

"Yes, I remember him. Why do you ask?"

Bob walked past Mohinder and over to a somewhat large TV, turning it on. He pressed play on the VCR, and Mohinder paid attention, watching Nathan give a speech. He quickly began to realize that Nathan was intending to reveal the Company, and people with abilities.

He was about to make a comment about how bad that could be, and ask what Bob had planned when he heard the gunshots. Two of them. He saw Nathan Petrelli fall and watched him die, followed by his brother Peter's outburst, and as they disappeared, the camera panned over to a reporter, wondering what had happened, repeating that something unnatural had happened. That three men had disappeared.

"The secret is out, Mohinder. This is just one of easily twenty news reports. As of now, this company is stepping up activity. You have a new mission: Find Peter Petrelli and bring him in."

--- COSTA VERDE, CALIFORNIA ---

--- Claire Bennet ---

**KNOCK KNOCK.**

Hearing the knock at the door, Claire went downstairs to answer it. She was the only one home. Her mother had taken Lyle with her to the store, to help carry the groceries and whatever she decided to buy for Mr. Muggles. Her feet hit the hardwood floor at the bottom of the stairs when she began to recognize the shape of the silhouette on the other side of the door (I think I remember the front door of the house being similar to the windows of their old home. If not, oh well, it's my fic).

_West._

She ran the rest of the short way to the door, pulling it open and throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back, and she invited him in to the house.

"I didn't know if you'd come back," she hesitantly said, breaking the silence that was beginning to form.

After a few seconds, he replied.

"Neither did I."

She sat down on the couch, inviting him to do the same. He did, and for a few minutes, they just sat there in silence.

"I wa–"

"I'm not—"

They began to speak at the same time, and then stopped. He motioned for her to go first, and she refused. He took a deep breath, having thought about what he wanted to say next.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I… I was only thinking about myself, and the fact that I liked having my little secret. I'm sorry for what I said about your dad, too."

She waited to see if he was done, and then decided to just say what she needed to.

"West… I'm not going to reveal the company anymore."

He raised an eyebrow, surprised. "What made you change your mind?"

"My dad."

--- EARLIER ---

--- ODESSA, TEXAS ---

--- ??? ---

He walked out of the room, pandemonium erupting behind him.

His mission was done. Nathan Petrelli was dead, or would be soon. He'd done what he came here to do.

He took his cell phone out as he calmly exited the building, authorities rushing past him to get inside, to find the shooter. To find him. They were oblivious. Flipping his phone open, he dialed a number he'd memorized by now, listening to it ring as he walked out of earshot of the people that were around.

"I've been expecting you to call."

"I know. It's done. I'm sorry, Angela. It had to be done."

"I know... It was unavoidable... You do know that you've opened Pandora's Box."

He nodded, despite the fact that she couldn't see him. "It would seem so…."


	2. Chapter Two: Hindsight

**HEROES  
VOLUME THREE  
VILLAINS**

**Chapter Two: ****"****Hindsight****"**

_Previously, on Heroes:  
__  
"I have the abili—" __**BLAM BLAM!  
**__**FLASH  
**__"As soon as your arm is fully healed, you'll be back on field missions."  
__**FLASH  
**__"The secret is out, Mohinder. You have a new mission: Find Peter Petrelli and bring him in.  
__**FLASH  
**__"It's done."_

(Voice-over): "The past has a tendency to repeat itself. If we do not take care, we can be overridden by it, and re-live it, mistakes and all. We often find ourselves in the steps of those who came before us, and yet we make the same choices they did. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, it is these choices that define us. To truly distance ourselves from our predecessors, we must endeavor to travel a different path."

--- WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK ---  
--- Peter Petrelli ---

He knelt down, setting flowers on top of the still-dark soil on his brother's gravesite. It had been a week since the funeral. The weather had been fitting. Gray and gloomy for the entire week. He looked once more at the headstone he'd personally carved, using refined telekinesis as he had seen Sylar do. _Felt_ Sylar do.

NATHAN PETRELLI  
1970-2007  
Father, brother, hero

It had taken a lot of practice, but he didn't want anyone else to do it. To him, it was like the last thing he could do for Nathan. There had been a lot of people at the funeral. Heidi had been there, with the kids. His mother had been there. Hiro Nakamura, Matt Parkman, Claire…. She'd been torn up. He'd spent time with her afterwards, trying to comfort her without showing his own pain. One of the things she'd said a few times made no sense to him. Something about losing both of her dads. He had wondered briefly if something had happened to Noah Bennet.

His thoughts were disrupted when he heard footsteps approaching. One thing he'd begun to notice lately was that his sense of hearing had gotten a lot stronger. All he knew was… it was a helpful thing to have.

He stood up, turning around to see his mother walking up. Before she could say anything, he began to walk away, having had his daily "conversation" with Nathan. He could hear her following him, and heard her call for him a few times before turning around to glare at her.

"What do you want, Mom?"

Angela looked surprised at the barely-held contempt in Peter's voice. So surprised, it seemed, that all she did for a few seconds was stare at him in shock.

"What, Mom? Didn't expect me to be a little mad with you? Let me tell you _why_ I'm mad. Before the press conference, Nathan told me, Mom. He told me everything about you trying to get him to just accept me being dead, all the stuff that I didn't know happened in those four months, and most of all, the fact that YOU were the one who helped Adam almost unleash the virus thirty years ago!"

Peter's yelling seemed to bring his mother out of her daze, and her face grew almost as angry as his.

"Peter Petrelli, you are talking about things that you don't know the whole truth about! My generation sold our –"

"Sold your souls for our generation? That's what Parkman told me you'd said to him. And if I don't know the whole truth, why don't you enlighten me, Ma? Tell me why you're trying to make sense of Nathan being dead. Tell me why you helped Adam thirty years ago. For once since all of this started, tell me the truth!"

There was silence between the two of them as they glared at each other.

_Typical,_ Peter thought, and he turned around, starting to walk away.

"Peter… you're right. You deserve to know."

Peter unlocked the door to his apartment, walking in and hearing his mother shut the door behind herself.

"Okay, mom, we're here. Now spill."

His mom draped her coat across one of the chairs and looked around.

"Looks more lived-in again. Settled back in, I see."

"Don't change the topic."

Angela sighed. "I'm not sure you want to hear this as much as you think you do. It will change the way you look at me, Hiro's father Kaito, Charles Deveaux, your own father…. We all did things we weren't proud of."

Peter glared daggers at her. "Like trying to blow up New York?"

She ignored his interruption, continuing. "We wanted to make the world a better place. Where people wouldn't feel the need to explain away things that they didn't understand. Like your little stunt in Texas."

Peter didn't say anything, and just let the silence linger as he waited for her to continue.

"Very well…. If you don't have anything to say… It all started when your father came back from Vietnam after he got discharged…."

--- THIRTY-ONE YEARS EARLIER ---  
--- November 1976 ---  
--- Angela and Arthur Petrelli ---

"I'm not crazy, Angela… I know what I saw. He _healed_ me, like it was just an everyday thing. Then he denied it to our lieutenant. That's what got me discharged. Silenced. That's what ruined it all."

Angela opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, the two of them heard a knock at the front door. Arthur walked over to the door and opened it, seeing a man a little shorter than him standing there, wearing a suit and long overcoat. And he had those damned piercing blue eyes.

"Austin."

"Hello, Dallas. I owe you an apology."

Arthur looked at him, shocked at first, then slowly getting angrier. "You're damned right you do. You ruined me, Austin. If it weren't for my wife and son being in the other room, I'd knock you on your ass again."

Austin just chuckled. Not a sincere chuckle, but it made Arthur want to knock the cocky smile off of his face nonetheless.

"Yes, and I'm sorry about that. Actually, though, Dallas, that's not the whole reason I came here. I was wondering if you and I could go for a walk. I wanted to discuss something with you."

Cautious, he grabbed his own overcoat, throwing it on. He gave Angela and Nathan a quick kiss and said he'd be right back.

The two men began walking along, Austin not really getting to the point, just talking about how he's been doing in the time since they'd seen each other. Eight years… It didn't seem that long, but it was. He'd been state-side for that long? Damn.

As they got to a nearby park, Austin brought up the mission. Stopping Au Co. This meant shooting a little girl, something they hadn't known before. Austin had tried to stop him, and then had tried to heal the girl. See, she was like him… strange. Except she didn't heal people. She'd been able to make plants grow faster. Arthur had killed her, though, in the end. After all, her plants were feeding the enemy.

"You taught me an important lesson during the war," Austin went on. Arthur stayed mostly silent, listening. "I understand now, great men are willing to make a sacrifice to save the world."

"I'm not a great man. I'm just someone who did what had to be done. I was following orders."

Austin grinned, and Arthur could almost see a literal spark in his eye.

"That's exactly it! Even though neither of us wanted to kill that girl, you did what had to be done. You became a hero to this country."

_Some hero, _Arthur thought, but kept quiet. He decided he would let Austin go on, talking his ear off. The walk was good for him, really. The autumn air had a little bit of chill to it, which made it crisp and cool to breathe in. Then, he was broken out of his daydream by Austin.

"I would like you to join me. People with great power, working together to change the world."

"Change the _world_? How am I going to do that? I'm just a guy living with his family in New York. I mean, hell, my wife just found out she's pregnant with our second kid."

"Really? Terrific news, Dallas. Congratulations. Remind me sometime, and I'll take you to this wonderful tobacco store I know of. We'll have cigars to celebrate."

They reached a park bench a few minutes later, and Austin sat down, waiting for Arthur to join him.

"Well, Dallas, I've got to be catching a flight in an hour or two. But promise me one thing…. Think about my offer. Together, we can do great things. We've been strangers for too long…"

Arthur looked at him, hesitant to even think about anything like this. "I… I don't even know your _real name_, Austin."

He extended his hand, and as Arthur took it, said his name.

"Linderman. Daniel Linderman."

"Arthur Petrelli."

Arthur and Daniel walked back to the Petrelli household, and Daniel told him more about his plan. Not a lot more, but more. Apparently, he'd already recruited a few more people. There was a scientist named Victoria something-or-other, a well-known New Yorker named Bob Bishop, and a Japanese businessman whose name escaped Arthur when he told Angela about it later that night. There was another man involved that Linderman seemed to speak of very highly, that he wanted Arthur to meet. Wanted him to meet so bad, in fact, that he was flying the Petrellis to Las Vegas the following week. It was all happening so fast...

When he did tell Angela about it, she seemed to accept it all a lot easier than he had. In fact, it was her that influenced his decision to go along with what seemed to be this fool's errand. He had been telling her he was going to call the hotel and casino that Daniel – it was still weird to think of him as something other than Austin – gave him a card to and ask him to cancel the flight. But Angela had changed his mind. He didn't really remember later on what she had said, but she had convinced him. She seemed to think it was a good idea.

The next week went by very quickly. There was a lot to do in preparation, being as they were planning on leaving for nearly a week. Arthur was a lawyer, after all. A busy and successful one at that. He had to go through his cases and separate them to delegate them to other members of his law firm. Those he didn't feel safe re-appointing, he rescheduled, although that was more of a hassle.

All in all, by the time he stepped off of the private plane at McCarran International in Las Vegas, Arthur was thoroughly confused, and still had no clue what to expect.

There was a car waiting for them, though. A nice-looking Lincoln, and a driver holding up a sign that said "Petrelli family". They walked over to the car, and the driver raised an eyebrow.

"Arthur Petrelli? Mr. Linderman sent me. I am to take you to the hotel."

"All right. Angela, let's get in. No sense puttin' this off."

It wasn't a far drive to the hotel. Maybe ten minutes before they pulled up in front of the very large building. It was brightly lit, and looked to be heavily occupied. It was a very nice place. Arthur was amazed that his old Vietnam partner could afford such a place. He must've done very well in the short time since they'd been in the army.

The car pulled up out front, and the door was opened by a large, muscular man. As they got out of the car, Arthur marveled at the man's size, and assumed he was probably security or something.

"Mr. Petrelli?"

Arthur nodded, putting out a hand. "Yes. Arthur Petrelli."

The larger man looked down at Arthur's hand for a second, then looked back up. "Very well. I'm here to bring you and your family to Mr. Linderman. He's been expecting you."

Arthur pulled his hand back. _Guess he's not the social type._ Arthur looked back to Angela and shrugged his shoulders, but they followed the man as he began to walk away. First through the semi-crowded lobby, then to what looked like a service elevator. Inside, the man flipped open a panel and hit the only button inside of it. The elevator began to rise, and Arthur wondered at the need for the secrecy, inner panel, and all of that.

After a minute or so, Arthur realized the ride was going to take a while, and he fought the temptation to yawn as it rose slowly. Another minute, and the elevator stopped, the door opening quietly. A long hallway was in front of them, and as they walked down it, Arthur wondered on Linderman. He was thinking there was too much build-up. Wondering how the man could afford anything this fancy. And not only how, but why? This seemed such a waste for what he thought were probably foolish goals.

They finally reached the doorway at the end of the hall, and the bodyguard opened it to a small banquet room. There was somewhere close to a dozen other people here, and Arthur could see that a few of them were as impatient and expectant as he was getting. They all looked at Arthur and Angela when they walked in, then went back to what they were doing. Waiting for the same thing, he supposed. Daniel. Him and this mystery man he'd talked about, most likely.

Almost as if on cue, another door across the room opened, and out came Daniel, followed by a short-haired blond man. The man looked to be about the same age as Daniel, more or less. There was an air about him, though… Powerful, mysterious, charismatic. This man appeared young, but he was an old soul.

"Welcome, everyone. As most of you know, my name is Daniel Linderman. You've been brought here because we believe that if we work together, we can change the world. And this is the man who will lead us in our efforts," Linderman said, gesturing towards the blond man.

The blond stepped forward, smiling brightly. "Hello, everyone. My name is Adam Monroe."

--- February 14, 1977 ---  
--- New York, New York ---  
---Arthur Petrelli ---

There was a knock on Arthur's office door and his secretary poked her head in.

"Mr. Petrelli, there's a call for you."

"Thank you, Jane."

He hit the line one button on his phone and picked up the receiver, waiting for the click of Jane hanging up before he spoke.

"Petrelli."

The voice on the other side of the line was warm and friendly. "Hello, Arthur, it's Bob."

Arthur grimaced, glad the conversation was over the phone and not in person. Bob wasn't exactly his favorite of those he counted on as his colleagues. He got along well with Kaito and Chares and Daniel, and to an extent Harry, but Bob was stretching it. He wasn't really sure it was, either, so he always tried to be friendly with him.

"Hi, Bob. How are things? How's the wife?"

"Oh, she's great. Listen, Daniel asked me to call you. Apparently, Victoria found something interesting at the facility in Hartsdale. He wants us all to meet her there to discuss it. He can't get out here, though, so Adam is going to attend in his place."

_Not surprising. Adam is always around, Linderman or not._ It had begun to seem to Arthur that Daniel and Adam had begun to seem almost like father and son. The nearly-immortal man and the healer. Their gifts were similar, and now Daniel was getting to be more like him in attitude, too.

"All right, Bob. I've got a bit I have to take care of, but I'll tell my secretary I'm out for the afternoon. I can be there in just under an hour."

He hung up, wondering what Victoria could have found that was so pressing that they all meet up so soon. He went through the papers he currently had out, and made a few notes for himself for later on. He'd just have to get himself caught up later, when he could get a chance to return.

He called Angela and told her of the meeting. She said she already knew, and was just about to leave the house. She'd called the babysitter for Nathan, and Kaito was coming over from his hotel to pick her up. He got off the phone with her, and left the office, letting Jane know he'd be out for the afternoon if any calls came in for him.

--- One hour later ---  
---Hartsdale, New York---

Arthur walked into the laboratory building and through the security checkpoint. The guard smiled at him as he passed, expressing that it was good to see him again, and asking how the family was. He told the young man things were great and smiled before walking along, expressing the fact that he'd been called there for urgent business.

Angela and Kaito were waiting for him just inside and he told them, after kissing Angela's forehead and shaking Kaito's hand, that he'd been held up by traffic. She told him that they'd been waiting on him, and he followed them into the main lab area.

Victoria was standing there, her fiery red hair a little untidy as it usually was. She looked a little out of place, such a young-looking attractive woman in a lab coat and wearing glasses. She held up two vials as the three of them sat down, and everybody in the room looked at her. One of the vials was filled with a clear liquid, and the other was filled with what appeared to be... blood.

She held up the red liquid. "This, everyone, is blood from a girl Daniel introduced me to a few years before this company started. And this," she held up the clear liquid, "is what killed her."


End file.
